I’m having a hernia operated on this Friday. The surgeon is doing it laparoscopically and using a mesh. If you were to Google “hernia mesh” you’d find sites with thousands of post-operative patients bemoaning their fates because of the mesh, which is giving me a slight case of the willies.
Now, I’m not asking for medical advice*, as I’m going through with this operation regardless. I’m really just looking for some reassuring and/or non-reassuring anecdotes as to whether I’ll rue the day or be dancing with glee? (Let me be absolutely clear that I do not mean the poster Glee)
Generally, on medical issues like this, the hundreds of thousands of men who had this surgery successfully do not take the time to write a webpage saying their surgery was successful. So you will see a lot more complainers online than happy patients.
I had an umbilical hernia repaired with some sort of mesh. It was outpatient surgery and the recovery was no time at all. This happened 20 years ago and I’ve never had any problems since. Your nuts may be a different story, but I wouldn’t worry about it.
I had bi-lateral hernia repairs with no mesh. from what I understand the use of mesh is when a repair w/o mesh is unsuccessful?
All three of my daughters have had hernia repairs, two with Inguinal:dubious: hernias and one with an Umbilical, and no mesh used and no reoccurrances.
Now 7 grandchildren later and no hernia’s at all;) so much for family history.
My uncle had a similar operation, uh… about 25 years ago if I’m counting right. It worked so well that his wife has to remind him of that surgery when he’s seeing a new doctor and they’re doing his medical history.
I had laparoscopic hernia repair with a mesh about 10 years ago. It was a piece of cake. I was uncomfortable for about a day and a half afterward but that was it. I wouldn’t worry about it.
I was terrified because of what a friend experienced about ten years before my surgery. His was the old fashioned abdominal surgery with a larger incision. He really suffered during recovery.
In mine the mesh was chosen before the surgery was scheduled. Other methods were never on the table.
I, too, had a bilateral inguinal hernia repaired laproscopically about 5 years ago. No problems at all. I didn’t need the pain medication they gave me (Advil was sufficient). I was driving within 3 days and going out to movies within 4 days.
I experienced a few movements (like rolling over in bed) where my immediate thought was “OMG!! Someone is trying to pull my nutsack off!!”. After a couple of days, all of the severe pain was over and I was left with some lingering discomfort. After 10 years, I can’t tell that I had it done other than the pre-surgery pain is gone.
As it was explained to me, sometimes the mesh will adhere to the tissue and certain ways you move will pull it away. That hurts like a sumbitch for a few minutes. It feels like a sharp burning sensation.
This would happen a few times a day for a few weeks for me. I tell you that so that you aren’t too surprised and/or scared when it happens the first time. But don’t worry, it *will *go away. I debated telling you, because I don’t want you to spend undue time thinking about it.
When I had my bi-lateral hernia repair with mesh in 1999, my surgeon told me that the mesh was, as a general rule, gentler on the tissue than pulling it together and re-stitching it. (The analogy he made was patching a hole in clothes rather than pulling the edges of the hole together and whipstitching them.)
No problems in the years since. The OP should be fine.
You’re not going to find too many non-survivors checking in, but three years ago my (70-year-old) father died of an infection and other complications from a similar surgery.
Not particularly reassuring, but no surgery’s going to win 100% of them.
My youngest son (3 years old) recently had a double hernia operation, without mesh.
The surgeon explained to us that mesh is generally used for adults only, and not for children because as children grow, the mesh will not grow with them, so it isn’t used.
Post operation pics:
Isn’t he cute? And he was up and running around the very same day after sleeping off the residual anasthesia.
I’ll add to the pile of reassurances by saying that my father has had three hernia surgeries with meshes without any problems. His recovery never took long and I have never heard any complaints about them either, except that he felt very ill after the first surgery due to the general anesthesia. In the latter two surgeries he chose to have only local anesthesia instead and was much better off. He was up and about nearly as usual within a couple of days.
Mr. S had a hernia repair the “regular” way in 1974 and another one laparoscopically (for a double hernia) in 2007. He says the second one was WAY better than the first. He still had pain from the first hernia surgery as recent as several years ago. He used to get “mesh pains” (which he describes as “it feels like a piece of window screen in there,” just kind of a little “poky”) now and then, but I just asked him and he says he doesn’t really get them anymore.
Given a choice, he says he’d go laparoscopic all the way. “Much less scary, much more comfortable surgery.”
I just had a bilateral a couple of months back, with mesh and a pair of incisions. (The doctor said a VA hospital study found that a bit less likely to have complications than laparoscopy.) The only real problem I had* was sensitivity tp the Vicryl dissolving sutures, and I was back to work (with no lifting) in a few days. For that matter, I met another guy in the doctor’s office who had had his done the day before.
I also had enough swelling at first that I was thinking of getting a wheelbarrow to carry my equipment in. My wife says I exaggerate.
When my oldest daughter was around 3 she had a single Inguinal repair. after 2 days in the hospital without getting her out of bed for anything other than potty calls, I wondered what we were going to do with her at home. Well I brought the truck around and when I went in to pick up the family, I asked where Lorie was?? Well she was the child doing flips on the handrail by the entrance when i walked in!
Dumbfounded I couldn’t believe my eys’s, then the Mrs. told me what the problem was. The open back of the PJ’s:eek:, No way was she going to get out of bed with those on:smack::smack::smack:
Now the hospital staff was clueless also:D
The No. 2 daughter had the bi-laterals done at 2 weeks old:eek:, that is how close i came to having a son!
